December 25
Events * 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian has a temple dedicated to Sol Invictus on the supposed day of the winter solstice and day of rebirth of the Sun. * 800 - Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome. * 1000 - The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary. * 1066 - Coronation of William the Conqueror as king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London. * 1100 - Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned as the first King of Jerusalem * 1223 - St. Francis of Assisi assembles the first Nativity scene. * 1261 - John IV Lascaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaeologus. * 1599 - The city of Natal is founded. * 1643 - Christmas Island founded and named by Captain William Mynors of the East India Ship Company vessel, the Royal Mary. * 1650 - Thomas Cooper, former Usher of Gresham's School, England, hanged as a Royalist rebel. * 1776 - George Washington and his army cross the Delaware River to attack the Kingdom of Great Britain's Hessian mercenaries in Trenton. * 1818 - The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria. * 1837 - Battle of Lake Okeechobee: United States forces defeat Seminole Indians. * 1868 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War Confederate soldiers. * 1868 - Shogunate rebels found Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō. * 1914 - World War I: Known as the Christmas truce, German and British troops on the Western Front temporarily cease fire. * 1917 - Why Marry?, first dramatic play to win a Pulitzer Prize, opens at the Astor Theatre in New York City. * 1926 - Emperor Taishō of Japan dies. His son, Prince Hirohito succeeds him as Emperor Shōwa. * 1932 - A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills ~70,000 people. * 1941 - Admiral Chester W Nimitz arrives at Pearl Harbor to assume command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet * 1941 - World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong. * 1947 - The Constitution of the Republic of China goes into effect. * 1950 - The Stone of Scone, traditional coronation stone of British monarchs, is taken from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist students. It later turns up in Scotland on April 11, 1951. * 1963 - Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio began transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots were forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation. * 1965 - The Yemeni Nasserite Unionist People's Organisation is founded in Taiz * 1968 - Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit. * 1971 - In the longest game in NFL history (82m40s of game time), the Miami Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs at Kansas City Municipal Stadium 27-24. * 1973 - The ARPANET crashes when a programming bug causes all ARPANET traffic to be routed through the server at Harvard University, causing the server to freeze. * 1974 - Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin Australia. * 1974 - Marshall Fields drives a vehicle through the gates of the White House, resulting in a four-hour standoff. * 1977 - Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with President of Egypt Anwar Sadat. * 1979 - The Soviet Union airlifts forces into Afghanistan to begin its costly occupation. * 1987 - In one of the highest-rated episodes in Coronation Street history, Hilda Ogden leaves her home of 23 years to be a char to her doctor in the country. * 1989 - Nicolae Ceauşescu, former communist dictator of Romania, and his wife Elena are condemned to death and executed under a wide range of charges. * 1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). Ukraine's referendum is finalized and Ukraine officially leaves the Soviet Union. * 2003 - The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe which was released from the Mars Express Spacecraft on December 19, disappears shortly before its scheduled landing. * 2004 - Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005. Births For the birth of Jesus Christ, see the Christmas holiday. * 1250 - John IV Laskaris, Byzantine Emperor (d. circa 1305) *1461 - Christina of Saxony, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1521) * 1583 - Orlando Gibbons, English composer (d. 1625) * 1587 - Margarita of Austria, queen of Philip III of Spain (d. 1611) * 1628 - Noël Coypel, French painter (d. 1707) * 1642 (O.S.) - Sir Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (d. 1727) * 1652 - Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician (d. 1713) * 1665 - Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (d. 1746) * 1667 - Ehrengard von der Schulenburg, English royal mistress (d. 1743) * 1674 - Thomas Halyburton, Scottish theologian (d. 1712) * 1700 - Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian general (d. 1758) * 1711 - Jean Joseph de Mondonville, French composer (d. 1772) * 1716 - Johann Jakob Reiske, German scholar and physician (d. 1774) * 1742 - Charlotte von Stein, German friend of Goethe (d. 1827) * 1757 - Benjamin Pierce (1757-1839), U.S. politician and President of the United States * 1763 - Claude Chappe, French telecommunications pioneer (d. 1805) * 1771 - Dorothy Wordsworth, English diarist and sister of William Wordsworth (d. 1855) * 1810 - Alexandros Rhizos Rhankaves, Greek poet and statesman (d. 1892) * 1821 - Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross (d. 1912) * 1856 - Hans von Bartels, German painter (d. 1913) * 1861 - Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian founder of Banaras Hindu University (d. 1946) * 1863 - Charles Pathé, French pioneer of film and record industries (d. - Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950) * 1874 - Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano (d. 1944) * 1875 - Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Austrian archbishop (d. 1955) * 1876 - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan (d. 1948) * 1876 - Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, Nobel laureate (d. 1959) * 1878 - Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver (d. 1941) * 1884 - Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (d. 1967) * 1886 - Kid Ory, American musician (d. 1973) * 1887 - Conrad Nicholson Hilton, American hotelier (d. 1979) * 1890 - Robert Ripley, collector of odd facts (d. 1949) * 1891 - Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricketer (d.1980) * 1899 - Humphrey Bogart, American actor (d. 1957) * 1901 - Princess Alice (d. 2004) * 1902 - Barton MacLane, American actor (d. 1969) * 1904 - Gerhard Herzberg, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999) * 1906 - Lew Grade, Ukrainian-born film producer (d. 1998) * 1906 - Ernst Ruska, Nobel laureate (d. 1988) * 1907 - Cab Calloway, American bandleader (d. 1994) * 1907 - Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (d. 1988) * 1907 - Mike Mazurki, Ukrainian-born actor (d. 1990) * 1908 - Quentin Crisp, English author (d. 1999) * 1908 - Jo-Jo Moore, baseball player (d. 2001) * 1908 - Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-American automotive engineer (d. 1996) * 1911 - Louise Bourgeois, sculptor * 1912 - Tony Martin, American singer and actor * 1912 - Natalino Otto, Italian singer (d. 1969) * 1913 - Henri Nannen, German journalist (d. 1966) * 1914 - James Muir Cameron Fletcher, New Zealand industrialist (d. 2007) * 1915 - Pete Rugolo, Italian-born composer * 1918 - Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, Nobel laureate (d. 1981) * 1918 - Ahmed Ben Bella, politician, first President of Algeria * 1919 - Paul David, French Canadian cardiologist, founder of the Montreal Heart Institute (d. 1999) * 1919 - Naushad Ali, Indian music director (d. 2006) * 1921 - Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Pakistani journalist (d. 2000) * 1924 - Rod Serling, American television writer (d. 1975) * 1924 - Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India * 1925 - Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-born author (d. 1998) * 1927 - Nellie Fox, baseball player (d. 1975) * 1928 - Dick Miller, American actor * 1929 - Stuart Hall, British radio and television presenter * 1929 - Chris Kenner, American singer and songwriter (d. 1976) * 1930 - Emmanuel Agassi, father of Andre Agassi * 1930 - Salah Jaheen, Egyptian poet and cartoonist (d.1986) * 1932 - Mabel King, American actress (d. 1999) * 1935 - Al Jackson, baseball player * 1936 - Princess Alexandra of Kent * 1936 - Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer (d. 2005) * 1937 - O'Kelly Isley, American singer (The Isley Brothers) (d. 1986) * 1940 - Pete Brown, English poet and lyricist * 1943 - Hanna Schygulla, German actress * 1943 - Wilson Fittipaldi, Brazilian racing driver * 1944 - Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer * 1944 - Kenny Everett, British entertainer (d. 1995) * 1944 - Henry Vestine, American musician (d. 1997) * 1945 - Noel Redding, English musician (d. 2003) * 1945 - Rick Berman, Star Trek producer * 1945 - Gary Sandy, American actor * 1945 - Mike Pringle, Scottish politician * 1946 - Jimmy Buffett, American singer and songwriter * 1946 - Larry Csonka, American football player * 1946 - Gene Lamont, American baseball player and manager * 1948 - Barbara Mandrell, American singer and actress * 1948 - Alia al Hussein, of Jordan (d. 1977) * 1949 - Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan * 1949 - Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Singer and icon of the Brazilian music * 1949 - Sissy Spacek, American actress * 1949 - Joe Louis Walker, American musician * 1950 - Manny Trillo, baseball player * 1950 - Karl Rove, American presidential advisor * 1952 - CCH Pounder, Guyana-born actress * 1952 - Desireless, French singer * 1954 - Annie Lennox, Scottish singer * 1954 - Steve Wariner, American country music singer * 1955 - Alannah Myles, Canadian singer * 1957 - Chris Kamara, English footballer and commentator * 1957 - Shane MacGowan, Irish musician * 1958 - Hanford Dixon, American football player * 1958 - Rickey Henderson, baseball player * 1959 - Michael P. Anderson, astronaut (d. 2003) * 1960 - Ron Bottitta, British actor * 1961 - Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator * 1962 - Dean Cameron, American actor * 1962 - Darren Wharton, British Keyboardist (Thin Lizzy and Dare) * 1964 - Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer * 1964 - Bob Stanley, English musician (Saint Etienne), filmmaker and journalist * 1967 - Jason Thirsk, American bass player (d. 1996) * 1968 - Helena Christensen, Danish model * 1968 - Jim Down, American ice hockey player * 1971 - Dido, English singer * 1971 - Justin Trudeau, Canadian media personality * 1971 - Noel Hogan, Irish musician * 1972 - Josh Freese, American drummer * 1972 - Mac Powell, American musician, singer/songwriter (lead singer of Third Day) * 1973 - Robbie Elliott, English footballer * 1973 - Chris Harris, American professional wrestler * 1973 - Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist * 1974 - Nagma, Indian actress * 1975 - Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer * 1975 - Hideki Okajima, Japanese baseball player * 1976 - Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboardist * 1976 - Armin van Buuren, Dutch DJ & Producer * 1977 - Jim Greco, American skateboarder * 1978 - Joel Porter, Australian footballer * 1978 - Simon Jones, English cricketer * 1980 - Marcus Trufant, American football player * 1980 - Reika Hashimoto, Japanese actress * 1980 - Locó, Angolan footballer * 1980 - Laura Sadler, British actress (d. 2003) * 1981 - Katie Wright, American actress * 1981 - Willy Taveras, baseball player * 1982 - Shawn Andrews, American football player * 1982 - Rob Edwards, Welsh footballer * 1982 - Shystie, British rapper-songwriter * 1984 - Jessica and Lisa Origliasso, Australian pop singers * 1984 - Alastair Cook, English cricketer * 1984 - Georgia Moffett, British actress * 1985 - Leon Pisani, Welsh singer * 1986 - Doug Loft, English footballer * 1988 - Eric Gordon, American Basketball Player Deaths * 795 - Pope Adrian I * 1156 - Peter the Venerable, Benedictine abbot of Cluny (b. c. 1092) * 1635 - Samuel de Champlain, French explorer and founder of Quebec City (b. 1567) * 1676 - Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England (b. 1609) * 1676 - William Cavendish, English soldier (b. 1592) * 1683 - Kara Mustafa, Ottoman general (b. 1634) * 1758 - James Hervey, English clergyman (b. 1714) * 1765 - Václav Prokop Diviš, Czech theologian and natural scientist (b. 1698) * 1784 - Yosa Buson, Japanese painter (b. 1716) * 1824 - Barbara Juliana, Russian writer (b. 1764) * 1868 - Linus Yale, American mechanical engineer and inventor (b. 1821) * 1880 - Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss Federal Councillor (b. 1828) * 1916 - St. Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic saint (b. 1845) * 1921 - Vladimir Korolenko, Russian writer (b. 1853) * 1925 - Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst (b. 1877) * 1926 - Emperor Taishō of Japan (b. 1879) * 1933 - Francesc Macià, Catalonian statesman (b. 1859) * 1935 - Paul Bourget, French novelist and critic (b. 1852) * 1938 - Karel Capek, Czech author (b. 1890) * 1940 - Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898) * 1946 - W. C. Fields, American comedian (b. 1880) * 1947 - Gaspar G. Bacon, was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1886) * 1950 - Neil Francis Hawkins, British fascist (b. 1903) * 1953 - Patsy Donovan, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1865) * 1961 - Otto Loewi, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1873) * 1961 - Owen Brewster, U.S. Senator from Maine (b. 1888) * 1963 - Tristan Tzara, Romanian-born writer (b. 1896) * 1971 - Maria Koepcke, ornithologist (b. 1924) * 1973 - İsmet İnönü, Turkish statesman (b. 1884) * 1973 - Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (b. 1880) * 1977 - Charlie Chaplin, English actor (b. 1889) * 1979 - Joan Blondell, American actress (b. 1906) * 1983 - Joan Miró, Catalan painter (b. 1893) * 1988 - Ooka Shohei, Japanese novelist (b. 1909) * 1988 - Edward Pelham-Clinton (b. 1920) * 1989 - Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (executed) (b. 1918) * 1989 - Elena Ceauşescu, Romanian politician (executed) (b. 1916) * 1989 - Billy Martin, American baseball manager (b. 1928) * 1992 - Monica Dickens, British writer (b. 1915) * 1993 - Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (b. 1899) * 1994 - Zail Singh, President of India (b. 1916) * 1995 - Dean Martin, American singer (b. 1917) * 1997 - Denver Pyle, American actor (b. 1920) * 1998 - Bryan MacLean, American singer, musician and songwriter (Love) (b. 1946) * 1998 - John Pulman, English snooker player (b. 1926) * 1999 - Peter Jeffrey, English actor (b. 1929) * 2000 - Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher (b. 1908) * 2002 - William T. Orr, American television producer (b. 1917) * 2003 - Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b. 1929) * 2004 - Gennady Strekalov, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1940) * 2005 - Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (b. 1930) * 2005 - Birgit Nilsson, Swedish singer (b. 1918) * 2005 - Robert Barbers, Philippine senator (b. 1944) * 2006 - James Brown, American singer (b. 1933) Holidays and observances * Christmas Day * (Re)birth of Sol Invictus. The winter solstice feast in the Roman Empire since 274. * Quaid-e-Azam's Day - Pakistan * Constitution Day - Republic of China now based in Taiwan * The feast day of Anastasia of Sirmium. External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:December